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Interesting. It's exactly how some (Dutch) Christians in my neighborhood are behaving. As if it's "cool" to be a Christian. Well, I'm sure it is cool and all, no offense to anyone, but being part of the 'in crowd' shouldn't be the number one goal when it comes to belief. I bet quite a few don't even honestly believe at all, but just want to be part of something.

Unfortunately, in the Netherlands religious people are becoming more fanatical, Christians too, because there are less and less of them, but instead of focusing on things that really matter, it becomes more and more important to let people see that it's cool to be part of the 'in crowd', as if it's a secret society which involves magic and God knows what... it's aimed at convincing people to join so bad they loose sight of the real important things. Lol, and I'm not even a Christian,

Well it is certainly not cool to be a Christian on this forum.

Its a good point Phemox. And one of the coolest things you can do as a man or woman is to take a stand for what you believe in regardless of what your friends, teachers, preachers, spouses or even you parents think, and it is in this theme which I believe is the reason Jesus wrote:

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If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.




Jesus wasnt telling people that they should immediately go out and hate their mother and father, what he was saying is that if you are not ready to reject other people's beliefs for Jesus' teachings no matter who they are, then you cannot truly follow him.

Its a sober warning that we all need to follow, me included, because it is easy for me also to make choices based upon what other people think, especially people that are close to me. But we cant make choices based on what others may think, we must make choices based upon our own honest core beliefs.